11.469 URBAN SOCIOLOGY IN THEORY AND PRACTICE Department of Urban Studies + Planning Spring 2012 Class meetings: Wednesdays, 5:30-8:30 PM, Room 10-401 Faculty: Xavier de Souza Briggs, Room 9-521,
[email protected], voice 253-7956 Office hours: sign up online or make appointment through staff assistant Staff assistant: Harriette Crawford, Room 9-519,
[email protected], voice 253-7736 Instructor: Abby Spinak,
[email protected], 773-354-2691 COURSE DESCRIPTION This graduate-level seminar introduces students to a set of core writings in the field of urban sociology. Topics include the changing nature of community, social inequality, political power, socio-spatial change, use and impacts of technology and technological change, and the relationship between the built environment and human behavior (and how changes in each interact). We examine the key theoretical paradigms that have constituted the field since its founding, assess how and why they have changed over time, and discuss the implications of these shifts for urban research, policy and planning practice. As such, the course has two goals: (1) To give students a more critical appreciation of the contemporary, comparative, and historical contexts in which planning skills and sensibilities have been developed and could be applied; and (2) To offer a “sociology of knowledge” approach to the field of urban sociology, so as to prepare more advanced students to pursue the urban sociology doctoral exam. LEARNING APPROACH AND EVALUATION The seminar is centered on intensive discussion, rather than lectures, on assigned readings. Students will be encouraged to discuss how the theoretical and practical concerns that have preoccupied urban sociologists can be applied to their individual interests.